Published August 18, 2022

As Keiro looks towards the future of aging, we are also looking to support the next generation of family caregivers. Keiro recently hosted a series of three dinners over the past few months to bring the millennial generation together to raise awareness for the next generation to start thinking about having these conversations with their older loved ones. The Millennial Caregiving Dinner series explored topics such as talking with your family about death, funeral planning, and estate planning.

The series kicked off in March with Dr. Glen Komatsu, Chief Medical Officer at Providence and Iyashi Care Physician, who guided attendees through “Death over Dinner.” Starting with an icebreaker question about memorable meals made by departed loved ones, Keiro staff and attendees had open conversations with each other about death and dying, and how difficult it is to bring up such topics.

At the second dinner, Eric Tanaka and Russell Takashi Martinez of Fukui Mortuary gave an overview of the funeral planning process and the benefits of starting preparations early. A lively Q&A session followed, including new trends in memorial services, interment of ashes in multiple locations, financing funerals, and more.

For the final dinner, Staci Toji, Esq. of Toji Law joined us for a discussion on estate planning, costs, and navigating challenging family dynamics around assets and power of attorney. Staci, who also attended for the first two sessions, shared, “Even though I’m technically an adult, I often feel like I have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to important life tasks. Learning about future planning early is beneficial for when our generation eventually transitions to the [role of] caregivers for our parents.”

Our Community’s tradition of caring for older adults continues through successive generations to today. This series of dinners introduced Keiro to the next generation, and how Keiro can be a resource for not only their parents and grandparents, but also for themselves as they begin to prepare for the future. Attendee Amy Watanabe, who attended two out of the three sessions, shared, “[These sessions] made me more comfortable talking about aging, and having these conversations with my parents is a lot easier and digestible. We’re all going to go through this process around the same time, so it is really helpful that Keiro gives us the tools and language to talk about caregiving.”

Photos from the Millennial Caregiving Dinner Series: